


got me workin'

by Redburn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Pick-Up Lines, F/M, Flirting, Lance Is a Good Bro, Muscle Appreciation, Mutual Pining, Shiro is ripped af, he is smart, pining Allura, she's got it bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 04:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8953123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redburn/pseuds/Redburn
Summary: In desperate times of need, Allura searches out Lance for flirting advice.





	

**Author's Note:**

> my first shallura fic! I hope I wrote them okay! (based off of [this](http://takashit-shirogane.tumblr.com/post/154398254088/more-pining-allura-bc-why-not-training-is-just) tumblr post about pining!Allura, because we need more of it !)
> 
> title from Ariana's 'side to side'
> 
> now with a [**Russian translation**](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6373205) by the lovely [DreamerX2](https://ficbook.net/authors/1063311) ! :)

Allura had a problem.

A problem in the form of one Takashi Shirogane; Black Paladin and the decisive head of Voltron. 

And the problem, to put it simply, was that Allura, Princess of Altea, had begun to lose her cool whenever she was around him. (She thinks that’s the right terminology, if her reading up on emotional human slang was indeed correct).

She’s not sure if she’s ever quite felt like this in all her long life. She’s not sure she even _likes_ it if she were being honest. It makes her wonder how humans dealt with this on a regular basis; just stumbling around each other, being so flustered it was even effecting her duties of trying to save the gosh darn Universe (especially when Shiro focused on her in meetings like she had put the stars themselves in the sky).

She hadn’t felt anything like this with the previous Paladin crew. Nor had she felt anything when she first met Lance and he’d clearly made a pass at her; she hadn’t even felt _anything_ for Shiro when they first met all those months ago.

Only now—

Now she did. And it was slowly starting to look like something that would never go away, it seemed.

Everything Shiro did now was somehow making her heart beat a little faster, her cheeks heat up a little warmer, her smile grow a little bit wider.

The other man had caught her so completely off guard; with his caring instincts for the rest of the team, his admirable strength at taking on the role of leader, his desire as strong as hers to help take down Zarkon and save the Universe for generations to come.

He was beautiful, inside and out.

And so Allura had a problem.

 

\---

 

“Um, Lance? Can I speak with you for a moment?”

The Paladin’s had just finished up another group training session, and Allura was currently trying not to look over at Shiro as he splashed some water on his sweaty face, his hair slicking back as he ran a hand through the hair that flopped in his eyes. Nope, she was definitely not distracted by that at all.

“What is it, Princess?” Lance grinned, clearly pleased to be called out individually.

“Uh, right,” she snapped her focus back to him and asked, “Can we speak privately? Let’s go to my study.”

“Oh ho,” Lance waggled his eyebrows, to which Allura shot him an unimpressed look.

As they left the room she could feel a few eyes watching them, but she ignored it, because she was going to do this whether it tarnished her reputation or not. They walked down the halls in silence, and once they had finally reached her study she allowed Lance entrance first before closing the door behind them.

“So, what are we doing?” Lance turned to her, still smirking, “Are you finally going to confess your love for me? Tell me the Blue Paladin is the true leader of Voltron? Or, no, even better—you’re going to ask me what my secrets are to keep up such a perfect completion in space, right?”

“No, no and no,” she deadpanned, taking a seat at her desk and gesturing for him to do the same. She fiddled with a small gift her father had given her many years ago, taking a deep breath before finally letting the words tumble out:

“Can you teach me how to flirt with humans?”

Lance is quiet for a moment, blinking fast, but then it smoothes over into something seductive. “Aw, Princess, you know you already own my heart right?”

“Lance.”

He laughs somewhat nervously, “I’m kidding. But uh, okay, flirting. You want to flirt with someone. Is it Shiro?”

Allura feels her face go beet red. “H-how did you—”

“Oh, c’mon, gimme some credit,” Lance waves a hand. “I’m a master at these things. So you made the right choice by coming to me.”

Allura relaxed slightly, trying to cover up her cheeks by letting her hair fall forward over her face. “Right. Ah, so… what do I do?”

“Well,” Lance leans towards the desk, cracking his knuckles dramatically. “It’s Shiro, so, the man probably wouldn’t pick up on it if you yelled it to his face,” he laughed at the thought, “So what I would do, is just test the waters first. Be yourself, y’know? Talk to him more outside of meetings, or ask him to help you with things around the castle. Tell him you enjoy having him around, that he makes you happy.”

“That’s…” Allura frowned, not believing it could be that simple. “That’s not what I’d thought you’d say at all. It’s very mature of you, actually.”

“Hey, I can be mature,” Lance shrugs with a coy smile. “And if you wanna turn up the heat, walk around in a tank-top; he’s bound to get flustered.”

“ _And_ there it is,” Allura laughed softly. She leaned back in her chair in thought, and decided that Lance’s plan might actually work. “Okay, so what should I do first?”

“Hmm,” Lance pondered for a bit, and then, “Oh, why don’t you compliment his workout? Join him in the training room, find out his interests?”

“Like, how you do that with Keith?” she asked, tilting her head.

“W-wha—” Lance sputtered, eyes bugging out. “Keith? Pfft, no. No way, what? That’s different, Princess. That’s—okay, nevermind. Just try that idea out first, okay?”

Allura wasn’t sure why Lance suddenly freaked out so much, but she didn't bring it up again in favour of giving his idea more thought. It had great potential, but would it be enough to have her feelings come across? She’s never done this before, but, if Lance says this is what humans do when they like each other, she crossed her fingers and hoped it would work.

 

\---

 

She decided to start small, like he’d suggested.

It was one of their rare days off, but luckily Shiro still kept up with his morning routine and was currently in the training room. (“We have to stay on our toes, team. Zarkon doesn’t take vacations, okay? He’s not relaxing on some beach planet sipping on apple juice, so neither can we, now let’s get to it!”)

The team had given it their best efforts, but after the first hour had flown by most of them had given up, making their way out of the room to go and shower. Allura noticed Lance attaching himself to Keith’s side again, but she let it slide and made a beeline for Shiro still lifting weights on the other side of the room.

“You’re very dedicated,” Allura commented with a smile once she reached him.

Shiro stopped to look at her, smiling brightly. Allura felt her stomach—what was it she heard Lance once say?—‘grow butterflies’? Whatever that meant.

“Yeah, workouts help me to stay focused. We can’t afford slip ups in battle.”

Allura admired him so much for it. “Well you’re very good at it. At defending the universe, I mean, not the, working out. I mean, you’re good at that too, I—” she felt her ears grow hot, wondering if it was maybe too forward.

But Shiro’s smile didn’t waver, it only grew. “Well, thanks. That’s high praise coming from you, Princess.”

“O-oh,” she stammered a bit, tucking some hair behind her ear.

Shiro abandoned the weights and went to go and grab one of the hydration pouches to cool off. Allura tried her best to discreetly admire the muscles of his back as he moved about, the strength of his thighs as he squat down to fumble for something in his uniform. And when he stood back up her eyes slid down further to his bum—

 _‘No, no, no. You are his_ captain _, his_ leader _. You have to stay_ focused _.’_

 “Right, well,” she coughed as she started backing away, much to his confusion. “Fine job today. You rest up now.” And then she fled the room before she could blurt out anything embarrassing.

 

\---

 

The second time she tried, it had been after lunch and she and Coran were keen to attend to some maintenance to the ship.

She had invited Shiro along, disguising it as a way to help him stay updated with the ins and outs of the castleship’s design plans. She brought Coran along to have it seem as more like a class rather than just an excuse to drag him off alone, and to avoid any looks the other Paladins might throw their way. (Lance in particular had made a total of 6 crude references since she had first come to him for advice.)

“So, to start,” Coran began, pulling out his tablet as they walked down the halls. “We should really check on the main systems engine, in case another fleet threatens to break through our barrier again.”

“That seems to happen a lot, doesn’t it?” Shiro commented, raising his hands in defense when Allura shot him a look.

They reached the main engine room a few rooms down, and once inside the chambers they all changed to switch into the uniforms provided for messier work. Allura nearly felt her heart burst from her chest when she turned to see Shiro in his uniform, looking much too small for him and hugging him nicely.

“R-right, let’s get to it, no time to waste!” she stormed ahead, practically feeling both their eyes on her.

A while later, once they had remodeled old parts of the ship in favour of upgrading to a more stable material, they had come across a rather large piece of equipment they needed to relocate.

“Ah, Shiro? Could you come over here to help us move this? I’m sure your strength could handle it,” she smiled encouragingly.

“But Allura, I know for a fact that you can lift—” Coran was cut off when Allura elbowed his side swiftly.

“Sure Princess,” Shiro said, wiping at his forehead and leaving some smeared grease behind. Allura wanted nothing more than to clean it off him, her hands twitching.  

Allura watched as Shiro lifted the equipment with ease, his arm muscles pulsing as he lets out a deep grunt. “Where am I putting this?”

“Uh,” Allura blinked, trying to keep her head on straight. “Just… over there will do fine.”

Her eyes never left him as he made his way over to where she had pointed, and once he was out of earshot Allura faintly heard Coran mumble something under his breath.

“What was that?” she asked him.

“Hm? Oh, nothing Princess, nothing at all.”

 

\---

 

So it’d been a few weeks now, and so far none of her tactics had really seemed to catch on.

Shiro still seemed as oblivious as ever, attending to Allura’s needs with no protesting, leading the team through thick and thin, and basically being such an overall amazing person it honestly made Allura want to spontaneously combust.

But on the plus side, she’d been finding a lot of quiet moments with him too. They had started sharing snippets of their lives back before Voltron. They talked about their families, about their childhoods. They learnt about each others favourite colour, favourite food, favourite holiday to spend with loved ones.

One day Shiro had even opened up a bit about his time as a Galra prisoner. Allura had been caught off guard, feeling touched that Shiro trusted her enough to open up about that part of himself. She thanked him for telling her, and that she was always here if ever he needed to get anything off his chest. He returned the sentiment, sincerity written across his face. Allura could actually _hear_ her heartbeat in her ears.

And now, when Lance had caught wind of no romantic progress between the two, the blue Paladin had apparently decided to take matters into his own ‘skilled’ hands.

They were currently taking base on a planet to secure another alliance against the Galra empire. There was an event organized by the diplomats of their race, and all occupants of the castleship were to attend in fancy dress. Allura and Coran still had many of their past outfits from other treaties, but it was a struggle to go out and find outfits for the Paladins.

“Why don’t we just wear our uniforms?” Shiro asked.

“Uh,” Lance cut in before anyone else could. “Nah. They’re all scruffed up; I’m pretty sure there’s still alien blood on Keith’s armor.”

“He has a point,” Allura chimed up, looking over to Coran. “How about we all search the castle? There’s bound to be other outfits left behind from previous occupants.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Coran agreed.

And so later, they had managed to find suits for every Paladin after rummaging through room after room (there had even been one big enough for Hunk).

Shiro walked out of the dressing room once he’d changed, and Allura just about stopped in her tracks at the sight of him. Shiro in uniform was good, Shiro hot and sweaty after a battle was great, but Shiro in a suit? Was apparently a _blessing_.

It hugged at his body nicely, showing off his broad shoulders and back. It brought out curves Allura had never noticed, and the deep navy colour of the suit matched the shade of his eyes. Allura had to bite her lips to keep a gasp from escaping.

Keith came out of the dressing room next, and Allura heard Lance make a noise under his breath, but she pretended not to notice.

They made their way over to the planets embassy, making polite conversation with the chairman and guests that had also been invited. Hours passed and, after securing the alliance they desperately needed, the justice of the peace called for celebration, and then quite quickly everyone had gathered to the dancefloor as some music began playing.

Allura planned to keep to the side, to remain professional, until a hand tapped on her shoulder from behind. She turned, seeing it was one of the men who belonged to the official signing of the treaty, and he had bent over on a bow.

“Princess, may I have this dance?”

Allura noticed Lance out of the corner of her eye send an enthusiastic nod, and immediately she was narrowing her eyes at him. Lance made more gestures she didn’t quite understand, but as the man continued waiting with his hand out, she graciously accepted and saw Lance give her the ‘thumbs up’.

A few songs later, after Allura had almost tripped several times over the man’s many feet, she heard a cough from behind them interrupt their dance.

“Sorry to cut in,” it was Shiro. Allura felt her face grow hot again from the deepness of his tone. “But the Princess promised me a dance before.”

“Oh, I see,” the man said, eyeing Shiro for a beat. Then: “Well, it was a pleasure, Princess. I hope to see you again,” and he disappeared into the crowd.

Allura gave Shiro a questioning look about the lie he told, but then she was suddenly being pulled into a tight embrace and they were gliding across the dance floor. Allura felt her eyes grow wide, surprised by Shiro’s ability to keep up a perfect rhythm with her.

“Shiro, what are you—”

“Your eyes are so blue, just like the ocean,” he said, “And I’m drowning in them.”

“What?” Allura tilted her head, “You are clearly not drowning—”

“Guess what I’m wearing? The smile you gave me.”

“Shiro, honestly what—”

“If beauty were time, you’d be eternity.”

“I—” Allura stopped them dancing, staring right at Shiro with cautious eyes. “Wait, are you… using Earthling pick-up lines?”

“Uh,” Shiro audibly swallowed, before nodding once. “I-I just, saw you dancing, and wished it was me holding you instead. So I asked Lance for advice because I didn’t know what else to do, oh _god_ , I’ve screwed this up haven’t I? Crap, I’m sorry Princess, I didn’t mean—”

“Are those space pants? Because your ass is out of this world,” Allura blurted out, covering her face when she felt it turn fifty shades of pink. “I-I heard Lance say that once, I’m so sorry Shiro, that wasn’t professional of me, _oh god,_ oh dear.”

There was a moment of silence, and Allura was about ready to go and eject herself into space, but then a laugh bubbled out of Shiro, catching her attention. She peaked through her fingers, and was met with the sight of Shiro wiping at his eyes as continued laughter toppled out of him in bursts of happiness.

Allura grew embarrassed. “ _W-what?_ I am your Princess and I order you to stop that, _it’s not funny!_ ”

Shiro’s laughter dialed down into soft giggles, until he was merely smiling at her fondly, eyes practically sparkling. “I’m sorry Princess, but you’re incredibly cute when you blush.”

Allura felt herself go even more red, if possible. She lowered her hands from her face, and placed them back into Shiro’s when he held out his own once again. They fell back into their dance, only this time the music was much slower, more intimate. Allura felt her heart rate pick up speed, but from the looks of it, Shiro still seemed just as nervous.

“So it seems… we’ve both been trying to get each other’s attention, then,” Allura said slowly, almost questioning; tentative hope seeping through.

“Looks to be,” Shiro agreed, causing Allura to smile in relief.

“I cannot believe we both went to Lance for flirting advice,” Allura huffed out, almost disbelieving.

“Hey, the boy’s way more clever than we give him credit for.”

They both looked over to where Lance had just then tripped on his own two feet while basically just standing in the one spot, and Pidge just laughed at him while Keith watched on with a fond look. He was truly the universes greatest mystery, that’s for sure.

Shiro turned back to look at her, his grip on her hand tightening ever so slightly. “Well Princess, are you an alien? Because you just abducted my heart.”

“Shiro, you know I am—” she stopped, and then she let out a giggle. “ _Oh_ , I get it.”

Shiro’s laugh that followed made warmth spread all throughout her body, so she stepped a little bit closer to him, and in return, Shiro placed a feather-light kiss to her forehead.

Needless to say, Allura will have to properly thank Lance later.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading this 3k of pure sap lmao  
> [/tumblr](http://edsbrak.tumblr.com/) x


End file.
